They say a 33-year-old woman, who is a tenant in the home, was arrested in connection with the blaze, but later hospitalized due to psychological issues.

The St Louis County Sheriff's Office is working on probable cause to charge the woman and possibly others with arson.

No one was home when the blaze broke out, but police say the woman returned while crews were battling the flames.

A number of fire departments responded and worked for hours to put out the blaze.

St Louis County arson investigators are continuing to look into the incident.

"When you're looking for an arson, of course, it's ignition sources and where the fire would have started. In this case, it started on the second floor but we also had some information from this female we dealt with as far as how the fire may have started," said Sgt. Wade Rasch with the St Louis County Sheriff's Dept.

Sgt. Wade Rasch said that the woman made incriminating statements, but later recanted them.

She could face charges as soon as next week.

The house suffered extensive water and smoke damage and is considered a total loss.